Corbenik
Corbenik is the second stage of Akasha, and is the opposite equal of Skeith. Background It is unknown how Corbenik was introduced into the game, although it is suspected that it came in through a similar manner as Skeith, being an overlooked glitch in the coding. How it is the exact counter to Skeith, however, is unknown. It is known that the first and only player to use Corbenik to its full extent was Yamato. Properties A trait of Corbenik is reflected on the user's right eye, which glows in a random color and leaves a visible color trail over the eye while it is in use. Yamato's was pure violet in color, and Ishi's is blue. Unlike Skeith, Corbenik focuses on and brings out the brightest aspect of a person's personality, counteracting Skeith's effects. Like Skeith, Corbenik is only compatible with certain players, and is impossible to contain for many players of SAO simply due to incompatibility. Corbenik can only be truly controlled by someone who has faced their darkest and most negative aspects. As demonstrated by Yamato and later Ishi, this is the only way to unlock the full potential of Corbenik. This process usually takes place within a trance or coma. Abilities Corbenik has been noted as having perfectly equal power to Skeith, being able to match it perfectly head on. Corbenik alone is able to completely suppress Skeith's abilities. Corbenik has been shown to be able to disable the microwave emission signal that kills players in real life when they die in the game, and is able to revive players with a physical body after a period of time. This has only been observed once with Ishi, and he was revived into a coma. Corbenik itself is unable to do any damage to anything, but is able to augment players wielding it to high degrees, attributing to extreme mental and phyiscal fortitude, as well as endurance and pain resistance. Physical bodied players experience hyper regeneration, and are even able to regain lost limbs, and even their head (though the shock of decapitation will most likely put them into a coma). However, Corbenik can only perform these major feats if Skeith is not present to counteract Corbenik's force, if Corbenik is the dominant code, or if Skeith and Corbenik are in perfect balance through Akasha. Although injuries such as lacerations and bruises and even broken bones will heal relatively quickly under Corbenik, lost limbs will take significantly longer. Further, if too much damage is sustained at once or consecutively, the player can still be killed. Data Drain Like Skeith, Corbenik possesses the ability Data Drain. However, Corbenik's Data Drain differs drastically from its counterpart. Firstly, Corbenik does not corrupt nor destroy player or NPC data, and therefore does not kill any players or NPCs. It instead drains experience levels from enemies, draining their levels. Like Skeith, the user can increase the radius of effect, however, instead of a constant increase in radius as it charges, the radius is selective, and can be increased and decreased according to the user's wishes. It can also effect single targets like Skeith. When used, Corbenik drains the levels of players and NPCs, being able to take their levels back down to one, as well as eliminating skill proficiencies, rendering the opponent unable to fight, or easy to finish off. This effect cannot kill any enemy directly, and simply decreases enemy levels to the point where they are harmless to the user. This effect also doesn't have any negative effects for the user, but cannot be used more than once a day. Items equipped or in a player's inventory will not be affected by Corbenik. Users Yamato It is known that Yamato was the first player able to contain Corbenik, and also the first to combine Corbenik and Skeith into Akasha. It is also known that Yamato fought Majora head on while the latter was fully corrupted by Skeith and utilizing its full power, and in the end defeat him using Corbenik's full cababilities. Yamato's brightest aspect is his belief in atonement, and that no matter the person, it's always possible to be forgiven, as well as his wish to be forgiven for the things he's done, and to be able to forgive himself. Ishi It is shown that Ishi was protected by Corbenik from most of Skeith's influence, leading to him not being consumed by his darkest aspect. Corbenik is very effective as a weapon in Ishi's hands, and the power is enhanced the more focused Ishi is on a goal. After Skeith was removed from Ishi by Hao, Corbenik became the dominant code and managed to keep Ishi alive long enough to revive his in-game self, though he lapsed into a comatose state. Trivia *Corbenik is based on Corbenik featured in .hack Conglomerate. *Corbenik was originally planned to be a special program created by Akihiko specifically to eradicate Skeith. Category:Weapon Category:Ishimura Elite